Question re filters

Barname

Some questions, would like to hear other posters opinions.

1). Do you use OEM filters on your lens?

2). If not what brand do you use?

3). Do you believe OEM (eg Nikon) that their autofocus systems are calibrated/designed/tested to work with their filters only?

smcclaw

Barname wrote: »

Some questions, would like to hear other posters opinions.

1). Do you use OEM filters on your lens? No

2). If not what brand do you use? Hoya Pro 1s

3). Do you believe OEM (eg Nikon) that their autofocus systems are calibrated/designed/tested to work with their filters only?No

.

Paulw

Barname wrote: »

Some questions, would like to hear other posters opinions.

1). Do you use OEM filters on your lens?

2). If not what brand do you use?

3). Do you believe OEM (eg Nikon) that their autofocus systems are calibrated/designed/tested to work with their filters only?

1) - No.
2) - Holga, Cokin.
3) - No.

DaireQuinlan

I use any brand of reasonably good multicoated filter that I can get. Only OEM filter I have is a slimline Nikon polarising filter for a WA lens which was anything but slimline in cost :eek:

As regards #3 though, where did you hear that ? Or at least hear any major lens/camera manufacturer say it ? It seems like a bizarre claim to make.

Fenster

No.
Hoya, B+W, generic (R72).
No.

DK32

no
no
no

I don't use any at all since switching to L glass.
I could never justify the price of the high-end pro filters. All other standard filters like Hoya UV filters soften images.

DaireQuinlan

DK32 wrote: »

I don't use any at all since switching to L glass.
I could never justify the price of the high-end pro filters. All other standard filters like Hoya UV filters soften images.

Meh. Have you actually ever tested this yourself ? I've tried it out and established to my satisfaction that it's not the case. There seem to be as many people who claim the opposite. I think the big danger with slapping filters on and leaving them on in all situations is unwanted flare or internal ghosting and reflections.

DK32

I have tested it and not exclusively on L glass either.

I think if you splash out of the more expensive filters then it's less apparent. But for me anyway the Hoya 77.0s UV filter that I have gives me softness on both an old Sigma 24-70 & a Canon 24-70L, both are tack sharp normally. I also tried the same setup on both 400D & 5DMKII bodies.
I tried out a pro UV filter in Bermingham's and this was fine. I just didn't have the budget for one at the time. It was more than double the cost of the Hoya high quailty filter I got from them

Paulw

I use the Hoya Pro-1 UV filters, but otherwise would go for good high quality other filters (polariser, grad, etc).

I certainly wouldn't recommend using cheap filters on quality lenses, as it can degrade the image quality.

.Longshanks.

My only filter now that i've upgrade my kit. Before this baby I used cheap ebay filters



Does that count?

sineadw

depends - I use hoya pro UV, but I've been messing a lot with cheap colour and IR filters. At under a tenner a pop if they're really bad I'll just chuck them Been using ebay ND filters for a while and they're great.

If I were getting a CPL or grad though I'd be spending a bit more.

Sleepy

1. No, can't justify the expense at my level or level of equipment.

2. I've a cheap set of ebay UV, CP, ND and magnifying filters which I rarely use, a 7 Day Shop CP for another lens which gets used occasionaly and a mixed bag of cokin/kood P square graduated ND and coloured filters with adapters for most of my lens that I only really use when I'm dedicating an entire afternoon to a photo hike.

3. In a way, yes. Canon/Nikon are only ever going to certify their systems to work with OEM parts and accessories in much the same that I've worked with various software systems that could work perfectly on configurations that they were never 'officially supported' for. The official line from them will always have to be 'our auto-focus systems are only designed to work with our filters'. AFAIC, it's up to the spurious accessory maker to ensure that their product works with the system they're selling it for rather than the other way around.

Barname

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

As regards #3 though, where did you hear that ? Or at least hear any major lens/camera manufacturer say it ? It seems like a bizarre claim to make.

@ DaireQuinlan ....

Fenster

I never knew that. O.o /runs off to check the 30D manual...

Sleepy

It's one of those legaleze points that's not worth worrying about Fenster. No camera maker can certify their auto-focus to work with an accessory that's made by a third party they're not partnered with.

Fenster

Well yeah, but I still want to see if it is in there.